Stax

Sorry if its in the wrong place, no idea where this topic should go.

I am building a new i7 rig (very costly for me) and wondering if you guys use some kind of surge protector? I just have a reg power bar right now. Is a surge protector really needed?

Thanks for any input.

L3gacy

I would reccomend a surge protector because they protect from many types of power surges or lighting strikes(certain ones) when they hit poles or the power goes out they protect your system I lost my old system to lightning because the power kept on going on and off+they also protect other devices such as phone lines.The best surge protectors are made by APC

the one i have but mine has higher rating in joules:
http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=176

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TwoCables

If you love your rig, then a surge suppressor is most certainly needed.

I used to use the Tripp-Lite TLP810NET because it was very highly recommended to me. It is indeed a very high quality unit, but I recently wanted something better that would isolate the outlets and also provide better noise reduction as my speakers were making a low-frequency hum at approximately 60Hz which was beginning to drive me nuts. It was quiet, but I knew it was there so I could always hear it.

So I ended up with the HT10DBS which was EXACTLY what I wanted. Now not only do I have dead silent speakers (no hum), but I have a much higher quality surge suppressor, and I feel GREAT about it!

Yeah, I love my rig that much.

But I want you to know that no surge suppressor can protect against lightning strikes. I did a GREAT deal of research before buying the TLP810NET, and I found that most companies and articles I read all agreed on one thing: when a thunderstorm passes through, unplug the things you want to protect. You should even unplug the surge suppressor.

But rest assured that it's necessary to have a surge suppressor for sensitive electronics like the motherboard and the other PCBs in our systems, our LCD monitors (LCDs especially as compared to CRTs), and other "micro" devices like these. The reason is because there are little surges and dips all day and every day coming straight from the power company. There's nothing we can do about it; it's just the nature of the beast. Other surges and spikes happen when big appliances turn on, such as a microwave oven, an electric stove, and electric oven, the refrigerator, the freezer, the dehumidifier, the central air system, the central heating system (the fan), a vacuum cleaner, etc. Every time one of these things turn on, it sends a surge through which could do damage to sensitive devices like our computers in the long run.

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TwoCables

I'm done editing. Sorry.

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Stax

haha no problem, thanks for the info guys, now I have a place to start looking. Where I live (vancouver island) we only get lightning maybe once a year if that, but when the winter storms come in off the pacific we get maybe 5-7 power outages a year and lots of on-off sort of stuff.

SiXiam

With that many power outages I strongly recommend a UPS (uninterpretable power supply). I have the: APC Back-UPS ES BE550G 550 VA 330 Watts.

UPS's are the best type of surge protector available, because with any surge it just switches to battery power. It's the speed that it switches which dictates its quality. The one I have will probably only give me about 10minutes of power, but it so awesome when everything is dark and you have time to save and shutdown.

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TwoCables

Oh, indeed. If I had the space for a UPS (I literally don't have any space for one believe it or not. I measured. It's too cramped in here), I would have one instead of this surge suppressor. It's not that we get that many power outages, but when we do, it's really annoying because I keep my system on 24/7. I'd rather have that extra 5-10 minutes to just casually shut it down without worrying about it.

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